‘Traffic registration fee’ stopped by court

ANKARA

A court has ruled against a ‘traffic registration fee’ charged by car dealers.

An Ankara court has ruled against a “traffic registration fee” charged by car dealers, opening a path for consumers to reclaim part of the money they paid when purchasing a new car.

The Ankara 6th Consumers Court said the fee was partly illegal as car dealers charge customers more than just the taxes and expenses, Habertürk news channel reported yesterday.

Car dealers charge their customers 450 to 750 Turkish Liras in a “traffic registration fee,” while they pay 162 liras in taxes and 80 liras to agencies doing paperwork for commissions. The rest of the fee is directly pocketed by the sellers.

Upon complaints from a consumer, the Ankara 6th Consumers Court ordered a car dealer to pay back 206.8 liras of the 500 liras it collected for the fee.

The decision might establish a legal precedent and allow consumers to apply to the “Consumer Arbitration Committee” in their districts to reclaim part of the fee, according to Bülent Deniz, head of the Consumers Union Federation.

“When you buy a new car, it should be ready to go right into traffic, there is no point in paying more than the official expenses,” Deniz said, according to the daily Hürriyet website.

Every year, 800,000 to 900,000 cars are sold in Turkey, the report read, and from each sale, 200 to 500 liras in profits are made after repaying taxes and expenses, totaling 200 million liras annually.